Ron Howard Doubles Up Before Strike Begins

By Katey Rich

I've avoided reporting too much on the looming writers' strike in Hollywood, both because I don't quite understand all the details yet, and the segment of the industry I work in (exhibition) presumably won't be too affected by it--unless the strike continues for months. Regardless, Variety's top online story highlights one of the most interesting things about the strike--the way writers, directors and producers are scrambling to get scripts finished and projects set in motion before the walkout begins.

Ron Howard could practically be a poster child for all this rushing around. Having finished Frost/Nixon--an adaptation of the hit Broadway play by Peter Morgan-- just last week, Howard is immediately turning around to finish the Angels & Demons script with his frequent collaborators, producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman. Angels & Demons, of course, is the prequel to the mammothly successful (but critically reviled) movie The Da Vinci Code, based on some book you've probably never heard of. The gang's all here for the sequel, with the above-mentioned creators and Tom Hanks all reprising their roles (no word on whether Hanks' hair, which was more heavily criticized than the film itself, will be returning in the same form as well).

Ron Howard is really gravitating toward his two poles with these projects, taking on the heavy prestige picture Frost/Nixon and the action-heavy Angels & Demons almost simultaneously. Both are set for release late next year, and while I'm not sure the Eddie Murphy curse exists for directors, you have to wonder if this timing might be unfortunate for Howard when it comes time for critical consideration of Frost/Nixon. Also, talk about spreading yourself too think. Now I'm worried we're going to see Richard Nixon considering the symbolism of statues at the Vatican, or Hanks' cryptographer Robert Langdon asking probing questions of disgraced political officials. If G. Gordon Liddy turns up in Angels, we'll know Howard was working too fast.